Would you operate from here?
The place is EU189 — the Isle of Rockall.
If you would (it is located NE of Ireland), here’s your chance.
Scot, K9JY
Update: my confusion with East and West continues…NW of Ireland or West of Scotland as in the comments…
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5 comments
Perhaps not north-east of Ireland. Maybe due west from northern Scotland
For some reason, east is west and west is east with me ever since I moved from Chicago-land to Seattle-land. My whole life the water — and to get downtown — has been to go east. Yet, here in Seattle-land, the water and to get downtown is to go to the west.
It’s only been almost six years…
Thanks Scott, very interesting as well as surprising. Since you requested for replies to be posted rather than sent privately to you, I decided I would bare all and post it here. I didn’t know this existed on the DXCC list. These so called entities should not be counted for DXCC. Scarborough Reef and now this place are ridiculous to be considered such. I know there is disagreement in the DX community whethere these should exist or not as entities. Well at least this place looks like it isn’t covered by water at high tide. Is there such a need for more DXCC entities that people need to create ones out of the little bit of Earth sticking out of the ocean? Why don’t they not consider it a DX entity but only a separate award for the IOTA chasers since it is in the IOTA program already? Can’t we have a RTASSTTDCADXE Rocks That Are So Small That They Don’t Count As DX Entities??
-Bloody amazing!
This doesn’t count as a DXCC entry as it is owned by the United Kingdom (Scotland) and does not meet the requirements. It is simply available for the IOTA awards.
My understanding is that two people spent over a month on this little island from Greenpeace.
But it is a challenge for an IOTA operation, for sure.
Hi guys
It was little old me who posted this snippet of info a few days ago on my own blog. I find the whole topic of Rockall fascinating.
Unfortunetly Rockall is not a DXCC entity. I have queried this a couple of times with the ARRL, however the criteria isn’t there. Although the islet is more than 350kms from the UK mainland, it is not 800km from any other island, ie, it is not 800 km from the Outer Hebrides.
Rockall is IOTA ref no: EU189. Only one activation has taken place in 2005. It lasted approx two hours due to incoming weather and worsening sea state. Less than 2% of IOTA chasers worked Rockall (the callsign was MS0IRC/P) - and boy are they the lcuky ones!
Last Autumn, I managed to assemble a team together to try and attempt a landing on Rockall for this coming June. It proved far more difficult than thought. Biggest concerns were danger to life and raising about 20,000USD just to get there (and that’s in the slim chance the weather is kind to you)
Anyway, the Dxpedition to Rockall was sadly cancelled. I thought there and then Rockall probably won’t be aired again. You really do have to take your hat off to the radio ops who went there in 2005, even if for a few hours.. Nobody else has.
Surprise, surprise i notice Charles Veley (the most travelled person in the world) is attempting to land on Rockall with Island Man. Ah-ha, bingo - there has to be scope for a Dxpedition of sorts! I telephone Island Man aka Andy Strangeway and inform him just how rare Rockall is to IOTA chasers. He seemed captivated by it all. He now seeks radio hams to join him should he land on the isle, subsequently putting Rockall on the air.
Three dates are now pencilled in on Andy’s diary. May, June and August. This is why i have been championing the Rockall story through various DX bulletins/clusters etc. Never before has a better chance of activating Rockall again been possible - it’s damn unfortunte i can’t manage any of the dates due to personal workload - but you then wonder “maybe some other ham could” - hence the publicising of these events.
Rockall has been slept on by Greenpeace and also a former SAS man. Both stayed on the small ledge in a specially constructed capsule for approx 40 days (rather them than me).
Below are a few very interesting links associated with the mighty rock!
http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/2005/06/20/rockall-triumph.html
http://www.therockalltimes.co.uk/rockall-ho/2005-picture-gallery.html
http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/41391/ (Gulp!!)
http://hamspirit.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/rockall-2008-dxpedition-cancelledpostponed/ (my own sad tale of the Rockall cancellation)
If you can think of anyone who’d be interested in activating this rare as hell IOTA pass on the details!
Col MM0NDX
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